Throwing Away
by Un-usuality
Summary: She realized why Naruto was so desperate to keep his promises. It hurts like hell when you break one that you wanted to keep so badly. NaruSaku, NaruShiz.
1. Chapter 1

**Throwing Away**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: This is my second fic. A bit of angsty so you have been warned. Pairings: Naru/Saku and Naru/Shiz.

* * *

Shizune stormed away from the small café. Furious at the pink haired kunoichi who went by the name Haruno Sakura, she did not even notice the surprised looks of the bystanders. Tears threatened to pour from her eyes as she rushed to find a place to cry herself out. That woman had taken everything from her, everything that she desired for, everything she worked hard for. And she could not do a single thing. Every time she meets her, Sakura smiles; the same mocking smile, making fun of her, silently saying that she had everything that Shizune had once but not anymore, mocking her helplessness.

To most of the people this may be surprising, for the fact that they both are fellow med-nins, both are close to the Godaime-Hokage and both are as gifted as the other. But only a few knew what was going on between them. From her childhood, Shizune had Tsunade as her idol. When Tsunade left the village all those years age, she too, left with her. Since then she worked hard, learned every technique that Tsunade taught, thereby slowly approaching her dream – to become like Tsunade, to become her support, to become her family. Maybe not the best, but she had become the 2nd best med-nin ranking just after Tsunade.

When they finally returned to Konoha, she was in charge of the medical facility as Tsunade became the Godaime. She was also acted as her personal secretary, although she liked to think of herself as a family to Tsunade. She was content with that. It was all she wanted.

Then Sakura came into picture.

Sakura was a very promising student. Both Tsunade and Shizune agreed to that. They were quite friendly to each other. Sakura started out quite well, learning techniques quite easily that even surprised Tsunade herself. Shizune once held pride for having a pupil like that. Then slowly Sakura started to fill out the space, _her_ space. She became Tsunade's prodigy. Slowly Shizune faded away from the picture.

After Naruto returned to the village form his two and a half years of training, he and Sakura brought back Sasuke. Sasuke was sworn allegiance to Konoha, a mild interrogation and that's that. He was reinstated. Not only as a nin but as one of council advisors seeing that he knew many things about Orochimaru. That infuriated her. Not because she had any feelings against Sasuke, but she thought it was unfair. She had seen the condition of the rookies who went after Sasuke when he defected. It seemed that they spilled their blood for vein, just to be puppet for council politics. She had voiced her opinion to the Godaime.

That did not go well with Sakura.

A cold war had erupted between the two. Within months, Sakura replaced Shizune as the head of the medical facility of Konoha, thanks to direct reference from several council members, Sasuke and the Godaime. Shizune was asked to step-down form her post because she was incompetent. She did not say anything; still she was Godaime's personal assistant.

Now she was not.

Shortly after she was demoted, Sasuke was announced to be the candidate for the next Hokage. Tsunade has chosen Sakura as her assistant. Sakura's smile was unbearable that day. Shizune felt betrayed, lost and broken. She had lost her family. She had lost everything she dreamed and held dear to her.

She was forced to abandon everything she had.

* * *

Naruto sat in the bar, slowly sipping his sake, his eyes lazily scanning the occupants of the bar, before finally settling onto the new arrival, Shizune. She was currently drowning herself into Sake getting more and more disoriented as time passed. He knew about her situation and he wanted to comfort her but he was not in any better condition himself.

He had worked his ass of just for acknowledgement of the village. And he has craved for that his whole life. Hell, he even returned their precious Uchiha back to them. What did he get in return? An accusation that it was him that drove him out and he used unnecessary force to bring him back and thus endangering the life of an innocent man. An 'innocent' man. And who testified against him?

Haruno Sakura, his one and only love.

He spilled his blood for her, to keep her promise. He nearly sacrificed himself to bring that bastard back. And that's how they repay him. The decision was unanimous as far as he knew. His punishment was to be demoted to Chunin rank and be there for rest of his career. Now the bastard was going to be Rokudaime and he was working _under_ him, and Sakura.

The dull numbness was starting to take over him again, same as the day when his dream shattered. He does not care, not anymore. When he remembers his ninja-way, he can not bear its irony.

'_I don't take back my words. That's my way of ninja.'_

What bullshit.

* * *

He looked at Shizune again. She was trying to down yet another cup of sake, muttering some profanities loudly. He downed his own cup and slowly rose up from his seat. He had a really high tolerance. Then again, he had too many of them today. He walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough Shizune-chan."

Still he called her by her old nickname which was given by him in the first place.

She swatted her hand away violently from her shoulder. Spinning around, she faced him.

"What do you want, asshole," she growled.

"Stop drinking and let me take you home. At this rate you are going to get yourself killed," he tried to reason while grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

She slapped him, hard. "Why do you care? Go to that bitch!" She tried to continue her assault.

He stopped her with ease and slung one of her arms over his shoulder to support her and slowly walked towards his home. That was closer to the bar than hers.

She was mumbling something incoherently, cursing. Her emotions were changing rapidly. From angry she went to calm at first and then started to cry. He paid no particular attention to her the whole way to his apartment. Once they were inside he dumped her on his bed. His head was also started to fill a bit foggy. He stumbled his way to a futon and dropped himself on it. He knew he should sleep now, but at this moment that was as hard as him being Rokudaime, even if he was drunk.

He wondered, if this is how Gaara felt.

* * *

Sakura, with smile on her lips, watched Shizune as she stormed off the café. She did not understand her problem. In shinobi lifestyle, it was natural to replace someone with someone better and she was better than Shizune. That's how shinobi villages ran in the first place. If Shizune had anything against that, that's her problem.

Last few years were really good for her. They had gotten Sasuke-kun back. The council had forgiven him. Not that she had any doubts about that; he was an Uchiha after all. She had gotten couple of promotions.

But, Naruto was worse off.

She had played a key part in testifying against him. If it was not for that accusation, Sasuke might have a very hard case. Sakura had two choices. One, do not testify so Naruto would be safe but Sasuke might not be and two, testify, so that Sasuke will be forgiven but Naruto will be punished. The council constantly pressed the Godaime. When Tsunade had given her these two choices, she had chosen the second. Atleast both, Naruto and Sasuke, will survive by her choice.

Or so she thought.

What happened next was a blur to her. How Sasuke was promoted to a council advisor directly and after that the possible candidate for Rokudaime, was beyond her imagination. She was happy nonetheless. But she realized one thing,

Naruto was dead.

The Naruto she knew died that day. Now he was a Chunin working under her, obeying her commands without any words. He did not question her after that, not even once, about why she support the false accusation. But nowadays, she questions herself why did she do that. Even after she had done so many things, Sasuke was still as distant as ever, his dream still being the same as before. She questioned herself, was losing Naruto worth having Sasuke back?

She stared at the night sky. She knew the answer, she was just afraid of giving that to herself.

* * *

'_It seems God of sleep has taken a vacation tonight,'_ Naruto wondered.

His thought went back to Sasuke and Sakura. As much as he wanted, he still could not bring himself to hate them. He could not consider them as his friends either. It was that numbing feeling again. He wondered how Sasuke's face would look like on the Hokage Mountains.

Maybe he should paint it like he did to the others.

A slightly bitter feeling came to his mind. His dreams, proclamations to fulfill them filled his mind. Sasuke has taken everything from him; yet again. The pain was not easy to handle; the pain of being lonely, being made to give up. He preferred the occasional numbness he experienced; and he wanted that more that anything now.

His musings were cut short by some noise. Shizune was tossing and turning in his bed. He stood up from his futon and made his way to the bed.

"Hey, Shizune-chan, are you OK?"

She did not answer. Instead, she moaned. He touched her forehead, lowering himself so that he can see clearly what was happening. Shizune's hand lashed out. He expected a slap or a punch. But instead she grabbed him and pulled him on top of her.

"Please, stay with me," she pleaded in a drunken voice. "Please don't leave me", she stroked his cheeks. "Please…"

Something stirred inside him. He did not care about what would happen, not anymore. Two people, one man who failed to attain his dream and the one woman who was forced to abandon her dreams, resigned themselves to the depths of the night and to each other.

* * *

Sakura watched the starry sky in the silence of the night. She was sitting at the same spot that Naruto showed her once. She had done this numerous times before; the only difference was Naruto was not by her side. She thought of all the years she spent with him. They had become closer over the years after he had gotten back from his training. She had started to know him more. She had started to understand him and his pain. She had started to feel his pain. She had wanted to comfort him then.

It was a night like today when they had kissed each other; their first kiss. To her, it was incredible. He had asked if she would stay with him forever.

"_Sakura-chan..." Naruto trailed off, holding Sakura close to him._

"_Hmm?", Sakura nuzzled his chest. _

"_Will we stay like this, forever? Will you stay forever with me?"_

_Sakura tightened her grip on Naruto. "Yes", she answered._

_She knew what was coming next. Silence regained for sometime before Naruto broke the silence again,_

"_Even if Sasuke comes back?"_

_Sakura wanted to avoid the question badly, but now she had no idea how to answer that. She stayed silent for a long time before attempting to answer. However Naruto cut her off,_

"_Just promise me one thing, Sakura-chan. Promise me that even if you go back to Sasuke, you will remain my friend and won't forget me. Promise me that you won't view me as a mere replacement."_

"_I promise, Naruto."_

She remembered the scene clearly. She remembered her promise. Slowly tears started to trickle down from the corners of her eyes as she continued to stare at the sky. She made no attempt to wipe them away, letting them fall freely. She realized why Naruto was so desperate to keep his promises.

It hurts like hell when you break one that you wanted to keep so badly.

* * *

Somewhere in a small apartment, moans of two people were swallowed by the lonely night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Throwing Away II**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: 'Throwing Away' was intended to be an one-shot. But by popular demand (I love to say this! So many reviews!) I am writing to make it a multipart (probably one more chap after this one) story. Hope you like it.

* * *

Naruto looked at the Hokage monument. Today was the announcement of the finalization of Tsunade and the council's decision of Sasuke being Rokudaime Hokage and his inauguration date. There would be a transition period during which Sasuke would be gaining more and more duties and power. Once that period ends, Tsunade would step down.

Naruto remembered all his proclamations of being the best Hokage ever. Everything was coming back; all his past, his fights, his struggles; everything. He did not know why. He had long accepted his fate, his defeat. He had given up long ago. Then why? Probably for the fact that during her speech Tsunade never looked at him or because, along with everyone, Sakura was cheering enthusiastically also. He shook his head. No, that was not true. He looked back at the recent days.

'_Shizune…'_

It was her. Somehow, she had managed to bring some of his old self back to him. Not the I-will-protect-the-village-and-be-happy-all-the-time self, but more of the emotional self.

He was being used all his life. Standing here, now, he realized the council politics clearly. He realized why he could not bring himself to hate Sasuke. Sasuke was a puppet too, just like him. It was not Sasuke who was being Hokage, it was the council who was gaining power. Sasuke was just like a banner which would provide them the civil support. They killed two birds at the same time; by making Uchiha the Hokage, the got the support of the populace and by demoting him they got complete control over him, the demon and the weapon of Konoha.

Naruto sighed; his mind going back to Shizune, again. He did not have any other woman this close to him in his life. His relationship with Sakura was an ambiguous one and never reached to this state. Looking back at that night or rather the following morning, Shizune had left without a word. He also, did not make a fuss about it. But he had wanted to ask her to stay behind, even if just for the morning but had decided against that. She had been, after all, drunk when all that happened; so that incident did not probably mean anything to her. But he wanted to ask.

Somewhere in there, the desire of being loved was still left in his heart.

He had thought that it was nearly impossible for him being loved again, but Shizune proved that wrong. He just could not forget Shizune and the intimacy they had that night. She had given him some of his hope back. She had given him a feeling of having a family, once again. Over the next couple of moths they had grew closer and closer. More and more time was spent together and he was drawn into the relationship more. But he knew that was also temporary. She made that clear a long time ago.

_It was one of those mornings when Shizune had kept his request to stay with him for a little more time. Her head was resting on his chest while he was stroking her bare back. It were mornings of this type when Naruto liked to imagine himself being the happiest man of the earth, no matter how much pain it will bring later._

"_I am using you, Naruto." Her soft whisper reached his ears._

_He was mildly surprised by her sudden declaration but he was not caught off guard. _

"_I am using you for my own needs," she continued to confess._

"_So when are you planning to dump me, Shizune-chan?" He asked her with a little playfulness is his voice._

"_I am serious, Naruto," she added while looking at his face from her position._

"_Me too."_

_She again rested her head on his chest. His stroking hand never left her back._

"_You are not bothered?" she inquired._

"_I am used to the feeling of being used," he answered. After a brief silence he continued, "I had a family, Shizune-chan. I had a life. But now, all I have are mission-briefings. I am always used, Shizune-chan." He paused again. Embracing her tightly, he flipped their bodies so that her body was beneath him, causing her to moan. He brought his lips to her ears and whispered._

"_At least you are honest."_

Naruto smiled slightly. It was very unlikely that her feeling had changed over time. Even if they had, she deserved better than him. He made a decision.

He needed a fresh start.

* * *

"The time has come," declared a man named Danzou, the leader of ROOTS ANBU devision.

"Preparations are complete. The transition has begun. We have the best chance during this period of power shifting. All we need is a valid reason for the uprising. That will get up some support from the civilians and some of the shinobi population," added someone.

"I think we have a valid reason. I have a treaty going with the Hyuga. They also do not support the fact that an Uchiha is going to be Hokage. Our main agenda will be about the treason of Uchiha Sasuke. I learned from Hiashi about the trial of Uzumaki, which is the only thing that is used by the council to prove Uchiha's innocence."

"We have discussed this before, Danzou. Get to the point."

"We overlooked one main point. That is, the trial was based on one and only one witness. Only that witness knows the whole story. She also holds a top position in the current system. Should we able to break her, not only it will give us a reason but also council's bias and shadowy business will be revealed. Demon vessel or not, Uzumaki has gained some popularity among some shinobi."

"Who is she?"

"Godaime's personal apprentice and head of Konoha's medical facility; Haruno Sakura."

* * *

Shizune was lying on Naruto's bed waiting for his return. She knew Naruto would be upset today and she wanted to comfort him. After the meeting, when she arrived at his apartment, he was not there yet. So she waited for him. Why she was doing this she did not quite understand. She did not plan on getting too involved with him. She started this for her own selfish needs. She knew that Sakura still had feelings for Naruto and she wanted to give Sakura her own treatment by taking Naruto from her. But somehow, as time passed, things had changed and she was not sure now. Even if Naruto knew that she was using him, she was sure that something was not right. It was her, who did not understand whether she was using him or she needed him.

He had become a part of her barren life and she did not want to throw that away.

He once told her that he needed a family and found it in her, once again. For some reason, she felt content being in his family. It had been her need for a family too, she suspected, that triggered her feelings. And here she was, waiting for him, in his bed. She understood now, she would be there for him for a long time, may be rest of her life. And he would be there drawing her in, always. After all, Uzumaki Naruto was known for never giving up. She remembered there second meeting clearly. It had been one week since her little 'escapade' with Naruto.

_Shizune_ _found herself at the bar yet again, needing a drink badly. The reason being another 'conversation' with Haruno Sakura. She was on her second bottle and starting to fill a bit dizzy when she heard the voice._

"_You are at it again, Shizune-chan," Naruto stated taking a seat beside hers._

_Shizune_ _eyed Naruto for a second and continued to sip her sake without any answer. Naruto ordered his sake and looked at her. She seemed to be in a bitter mood._

"_You OK, Shizune-chan?"_

_She gripped her cup tightly, gritting her teeth. She wanted to be left alone right now and somehow this man kept reminding her of Sakura. On top of that, her mind kept going back to that night and she did not want to deal with that right now._

"_You seem awfully concerned about me today," Shizune spat, "Your sweet Sakura-chan did not give you enough today?" her bitter mood showing clearly._

_Naruto_ _snorted. She sure knew how to shut people up. Then again, he was Uzumaki Naruto after all._

"_She does not give me anything, except orders, that is," Naruto countered. "Another argument?"_

_Shizune_ _was really getting irritated by now. She was here to forget things, not to be reminded. She ignored the second question and chose to close the topic by a single jab._

"_She does not give anything, huh? So that's why you are here, to pick up drunken women and take advantage of them? What are you waiting for now? For me to get drunk again?"_

_She was right on target this time. Naruto just stared at her for sometime. He downed his cup and paid the bill. He looked at her once again. She was clearly not drunk this time._

"_You know, Shizune-chan, I wanted to ask you if that night held any meaning to you." Naruto stood up. "Thanks for the answer."_

_Shizune_ _stared at the exit of the bar where Naruto disappeared._

_It was one hour after he got back from the bar when Naruto heard a knock at his front door. He opened it to find Shizune standing outside. She was a bit intoxicated but still had enough control. Before he could ask anything, she pushed him inside against a wall and pressed her lips against his. Naruto became confused after the passionate kiss, but Shizune cleared that up._

"_This time, I want to remember everything," she said, her hands still cupping his face._

_Gripping her hair by one hand, he pulled her close for another kiss. His other hand ripped the kimono off her body._

_Together, they entered into the wild night._

After that, many times they had found themselves at each other door. Many nights had became wild. The obvious age difference between them did not seem to faze Naruto a bit. Before this, she never had any serious romantic or sexual relationships with anyone, mostly due to the fact that she spent most of her youth with Tsunade, away from the village and living a life of a wanderer and she was already close to thirty when she returned to Konoha. But she found her lost times in Naruto as he continued to remind her of her womanhood that she thought she had left behind. Shizune let out a small laugh. She was a medic and all that, but up till now, she had not realized the most vital thing about Naruto.

He was contagious. Once you get a test of him, you are addicted forever.

* * *

Her musings were cut short by the sound of the door opening. Naruto came in and sat on the couch looking tired. Shizune rose from his bed and went over to him. Settling herself beside him, she slowly started rubbing his shoulder. He did not look at her, neither did he respond.

"Naruto, we all knew this would happen. Don't let it get you," she cupped his face turning it towards her.

"It's hard, Shizune-chan," he whispered. "It's hard to live on when you don't have anything to live for. It's hard when you don't have anyone to go to."

He sounded broken and defeated. Shizune knew he needed help badly. He needed her badly.

"That's not true. You are not alone, Naruto." She had to tell him, now. She had to tell him before he is totally lost.

"You…" she paused for a second. She slid into his lap and kissed him tenderly.

"You have me, Naruto" she whispered.

Naruto looked at her with surprise and shock. There was raw emotion in her eyes. He could see the truth of the statement. And he was scared. She never said anything to him that may raise his hope towards a stable relationship between them, not even in an ambiguous manner. Then, why now? Why after he had made his decision? Why did she have to come after it was too late?

"Shizune-chan, you … why … Oh God!" his voice is barely whisper now. "I am sorry Shizune-chan, I am so sorry…"

"Naruto, what's wrong? Why…" she was rubbing his cheek with her hand. He looked away from her and stilled himself.

"I resigned, Shizune-chan".

She froze. He felt her body stiffen. She was still embracing him. It took her some time to recover her voice.

"What will you do now?" she did not ask him why.

He closed his eyes. "I…I am leaving the village, tomorrow morning. Obaa-chan already gave clearance," he replied, his eyes still closed.

She could not believe it. He had done an incredibly stupid thing and she was late to stop him, too late. She did not understand why this had to happen now, after she had sorted out her feelings. Just when she was about to settle down, this _idiot_ had to do something this incredulous. Just when she had picked herself up, he had to scatter everything again.

His eyes closed, he felt her hands tighten their grip for a second and then leave his face; he felt her leaving his side. He knew he screwed up yet again. He had got his second chance and he had thrown it away again. He heard the door open.

"I wanted to give you your family, Naruto; I wanted to start _our own_ family!" she was sobbing, "and you threw it away."

He heard the door close. He brought his hands to cover his face.

He was useless again.

* * *

Tsunade sat in her office recollecting her conversation with Naruto. She let out a defeated sigh. Her mind went back to an earlier meeting with the council.

"_Your apprentice, Haruno Sakura, is getting out of hand, Tsunade."_

_Tsunade_ _held a look that conveyed her irritation clearly. "No, she is not."_

"_You know clearly, Tsunade, if the Hyuga are to get the true story out of her, it will create a huge mess. There alliance with ROOTS clearly indicates so. Today, she was approached by several Hyuga members. We can not let that happen."_

"_This is a time of transition. Any kind of uprising has to be stopped by all means, Tsunade. You have to control her more."_

She closed her eyes and leaned back into her seat. She had feared this for so long. She did not want to do this but Naruto's decision had left her with no choice. She was well aware of Sakura's feelings towards Naruto. This news will not go well with her and if she were to break… She sighed and called her personal messenger.

"Get Haruno Sakura to me."

She was the Hokage after all. She would do what had to be done.

* * *

It was late afternoon when a figure knocked on a wooden door before entering the cabin.

"We got a bird from Konoha. It's about Uzumaki," a male voice spoke.

No response was heard as the voice continued.

"He will be leaving tomorrow morning." He delivered a small scroll.

"Prepare to leave in half an hour," the occupant of the room spoke, "We have to intercept him before he goes too far. Be prepared for battle."

As the messenger was retreating, he heard once more.

"Kill the bird."

* * *

"Tsunade-shishou, you summoned me?" Sakura asked standing in front of the Godaime.

Tsunade handed her a scroll and a package. Sakura opened the scroll and stared at it.

"Welcome to ANBU, Sakura."

* * *

Shizune stared at the setting sun. Naruto might have thrown away his last chance but she had hers left. Then again, all she had was a lucky bird.

* * *

End A/N : There seems to be a big fuss about answering the reviews. So I would say this: My heartfelt thanks to all of you who reviewed. I really appreciate that. Please keep the reviews coming, because those are my inspiration! See you in the next (and probably final) chapter. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Throwing Away III**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: This is the final part, as of now. It may seem that, in the previous chapter, Shizune was a bit harsh towards Naruto. Why she was so upset, that would be clear as the story goes. We have to remember that she is Jounin with at least double the experience (both as a Jounin and administrative service) compared to Naruto. So she can anticipate things that Naruto might not. That's all I am going to say.

On with the story.

* * *

Sakura exited the Hokage's office and ran towards the north gate of the village. Drops of tears continued to threaten to be spilled from her eyes. She continued to tell herself to be strong; she was the apprentice of the Godaime herself. She could not believe Naruto was leaving. Naruto did not give up; never! So why now? 

'_Please don't do it Naruto! Please don't!'_ Sakura continued to pray in her mind.

She had to stop him before it was too late. She had to talk to him.

Sakura reached the gate only to find Shizune waiting there. Shizune looked at her with no expression in her face. Sakura was puzzled to find her here but opted to wait silently without asking her anything. As moments passed in silence, she prepared herself over and over to deal with the situation. She had to convince Naruto to stay and she would give everything she got to accomplish that. She could not afford any mistakes.

* * *

Naruto had taken his time to pack up. He did not take many things, just a medium sized back pack. His mind played the scene with Shizune which occurred the previous night over and over again. He wanted to see her badly but knew that the situation would grow worse, for both of them. He took a last look at the village from his position and headed for the north gate. 

The gate came into view a few moments later. As he neared the gate, he saw two people; one he wanted to see badly: Shizune and the other he wanted to avoid badly: Sakura. As he neared them, Shizune stood up from her sitting position. With a small bow to Sakura and a 'hi', he went to Shizune.

"Shizune-chan," he greeted the black haired woman, "its goodbye, I guess …" A hint of sadness was present in his voice. He knew he had broken her dreams, yet again, but he was glad that she was here to see him off. But, whatever answer he was expecting from Shizune, it was not this.

"No need for that, Naruto. I will be coming with you," Shizune stated calmly, revealing a small kit-bag of her own. "Although," continued Shizune, "you can say goodbye to her, if you want," she finished glancing towards Sakura. Sensing Naruto's confused state, she continued,

"I resigned last night."

* * *

Sakura was not sure if she was in her right mind, right now. She was ready to convince Naruto to abandon his goal to leave the village but Shizune's interference messed her preparations up, totally. Now she did not know what do. 

"Naruto, please wait," she started.

Naruto and Shizune looked at her. She tried to find the right words.

"Naruto, please don't do this. You don't have to leave the village. Shizune please, this is madness! Please stop him!" Sakura was now on the verge of yelling.

Naruto wanted to say something but Shizune cut him off.

"What is madness, Haruno-sama? We already resigned from our duties and Hokage-sama accepted them."

"There is nothing left here for either of us; of all people you should know that, Sakura-san." Naruto added quite coldly.

Sakura took a step forward. "Please Naruto, stay here. Everything will be alright, I promise! I will make you happy, please Naruto," Sakura did not know what she was saying anymore. She knew it would not work. She knew she said the same words to Sasuke all those years back. In his case, she got a second chance; but in this case this was her last chance. She wanted to run up to him and embrace him and never let him go.

She started towards him but stopped when Naruto turned around without answering her, adjusted his backpack and started walking to the gate. Shizune shouldered her bag and took his left arm. He looked at Shizune and smiled. Without looking back he answered,

"I stopped believing in promises, Sakura."

As they walked toward the gate, Sakura stood at her spot with unbearable pain in her heart. It did not help when Shizune turned to her for a last look. Sakura flinched. It was neither anger nor mockery.

It was pity.

* * *

Naruto did not know if he should feel happy for the fact that she was with her or feel sad that she was leaving her home because of him. He had not anticipated this and hence did not have any course of action ready. Then again, he was not Shikamaru. 

"Are you sure about this, Shizune-chan?" He asked with concern. "You know what this means. Once we step outside the gate, there is no going back."

"I am a Jounin too, you know," Shizune answered lazily as she leaned onto him. "And I have far more experience than you have" she added playfully.

Naruto sighed. If she wanted to accompany him, he was not going to insult her by telling her to go away. But the fact remained that he did not want to loose her. But seeing her determination, he smiled at her once more and tightened his grip of her hand. He would enjoy as long as they were together.

"Where's that necklace, Naruto?"

"I gave it back to her. Don't want to blame it for what's happening."

Shizune smiled. Together, they stepped outside the village boundaries and into uncertainty.

* * *

As they walked toward the gate, she continued to pray silently '_please do not step outside the gate, please do not…'_ She wanted some miracle to happen to stop them, even at the last moment. As they stepped outside the gates, she clenched her fists tightly and closed her eyes. A lone teardrop escaped her eyes. 

_Sakura stood in front of Tsunade, not believing what she was hearing._

"_You can not be serious, Tsunade-shishou! This is Naruto we are talking about! How can you just…"_

"_Be quite Sakura!" Tsunade cut her off. "You know as well as I do, he resigned. That means we do not have any command on him, which in turn makes him a loose cannon. Under any circumstances, we can not allow him to join or fall in the hands of any other village or organization. Try to understand, Sakura. This is for our village."_

"_Loose cannon? Him a loose cannon?" yelled Sakura. "YOU created that so called loose cannon in the first place!"_

"_Haruno Sakura! You are not in a position to argue here! As your superior and commanding officer, I order you to take this mission! Is that clear?" _

_Sakura stared at her mentor for a moment and then averted her gaze. "So that's why… that's why you promoted me."_

"_Why me?" Sakura whispered, "Of all people why me?"_

"_You will understand in due time."_

Her eyes shut, Sakura understood clearly. It was for Shizune. They were both Tsunade's students. Even if Sakura did not want to admit, she knew deep down, Shizune had lot more experience that she had. Moreover, she was about the only one beside the Godaime herself, who knew Shizune's fighting style, all out. Naruto was her team-mate as well. She was perfect choice for the job. She wiped the tears, her eyes still closed. She unclenched her fists and brought out a mask.

"_Listen carefully. Your mission is to locate Uzumaki Naruto, once he steps outside of the village; and eliminate him." Tsunade had said. _

"_You are to take ANBU special units 3, 4 and Eraser unit 2, with you. You will be in charge of this mission. This mission is classified as an S ranked one. Failure will not be tolerated."_

'_Is she joking?' Sakura gritted her teeth. Three ANBU units plus her; fifteen goddamn ANBU assassins and herself against one lone man and she was talking about failure? It's a freaking slaughter party!_

"_During your mission, if you face any threat from any other source, you are to eliminate them too. Once the target is eliminated, the Eraser team will be responsible to clear up any evidence of struggle there. After completion, you are to report to me directly." Tsunade's voice was cold as steel through out her speech._

"_Are your instructions clear?"_

"…_Yes, Hokage-sama."_

"_You are dismissed."_

_Sakura turned and left without looking back. If she had stayed back for a few seconds more, she would have heard Tsunade's chocked heartbreaking sobs that she had been holding inside her for so long._

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, dull emotionless green eyes. As 15 ANBU members materialized behind her, she put the mask on and released the henge that kept her ANBU outfit hidden.

"Should we start, Ma'am?" a tori-masked ANBU questioned.

She looked at the gate and beyond. Naruto and Shizune were traveling fast, for they were nowhere in sight.

"Yes, let's go." With that, 16 shinobi disappeared.

She would do what needed to be done; even if it would the last thing she would do.

* * *

Naruto and Shizune were traveling quite fast compared to the civilians. They needed to find somewhere to camp before night fell. They were using the ground to travel now. Suddenly Naruto tackled Shizune to her right and a split second later the ground they were standing on exploded. He straitened up, bringing Shizune up with him. Eleven Konoha ANBU members revealed themselves, making a circular arrangement around them while the other five kept themselves hidden in the trees for backup. 

"I thought she would send at most ten of them, but sixteen? What an overkill," Shizune stated eyeing all the ANBU around them.

"Congrats, Sakura." It was Naruto, standing back to back with Shizune.

"Thanks," was her brief answer. Sakura removed her mask. After all, there was no point in wearing a mask after your opponent had already recognized you.

She took a last look towards Naruto. "Sayonara."

And the onslaught began.

* * *

Their figures were blurs and covered in the shadows that the trees provided. How many were they, it was hard to figure out. Traveling at high speed, they dodged tree branches with ease. As the distance between them and Konoha continued to lessen, a voice issued an order. 

"Move faster," it was a male voice. "We are already late."

They sped up. He was getting restless.

* * *

Sakura continued to breathe deeply. Finally, it was over. She looked forward. Naruto was a bloody mess. She had to use the special seal developed by Jiraiya to suppress the Kyuubi. Even then, two third of her group was either dead or injured severely. Naruto was looking at her with tired eyes, while Shizune's body lay sprawled on the forest floor in her own blood. She did not know if Shizune was alive or not. If she was, it would be for a short time. The only team that was mostly unharmed was the Eraser team. She looked into Naruto's eyes only to close her own eyes. She took another deep breath to still herself. 

"Tori, clear up the mess," She commanded.

"Right away, ma'am."

It was purely her instinct that she turned left in time to find the small knife embedded in her back, missing her lung by a fraction.

"Tori! What are you trying …" she was cut off by another knife penetrating her lower abdomen.

"Cleaning up the mess, ma'am."

Blood flowed from her mouth. Her eyes wide, she looked at the tori-masked ANBU who drew back the knife from her abdomen only to drive it back in again, while her other teammates watched with expressionless masks. She let out a small cough of blood and fell on the ground on her back. She felt a burning sensation in her wounds. '_Poison'_ she thought. A dog masked ANBU came into her view preparing to do a jutsu.

"Why?" she choked out, which came out more like a gurgle. Blood flowed from her wounds and mouth, non-stop.

The tori masked ANBU, leader of the Eraser team, stopped the dog-masked one.

"No jutsu," tori reminded.

_It was two hours before Sakura was briefed by the Hokage. Captains of the three teams, ANBU teams 3 and 4, and Eraser team 2, were briefed in the Hokage office by the Godaime herself._

"_Your teams are assigned the mission to eliminate Uzumaki Naruto, who will be leaving the village approximately two hours from now. Haruno Sakura will be leading your teams. You are to eliminate him and any other threats that accompany him. Is that clear?"_

_After a chorus of affirmations, Tsunade continued, "However that is only the first part of the mission. There is a second part of your mission and a vital one. Once Uzumaki is eliminated," Tsunade paused to gain her composure, _

"_You are to eliminate Haruno Sakura." _

"_Remember not to use any regular ANBU elimination jutsu. Let it look like doing of Naruto or, preferably, Shizune. She uses poison," she continued on._

"_Any questions? If not, you are all dismissed."_

_Another chorus of affirmation and the captains were gone._

The dog masked ANBU slapped the side of Sakura's face to clear away any blood in her mouth and forced open her mouth so that she was inhaling by her mouth. She tried to resist but she did not have sufficient strength. Tori brought out a bottle with some purple substance inside. Sakura watched helplessly at her death. Suddenly everything was clear; everything was making sense, fitting perfectly in the puzzle. Shizune was not the cause that she had been chosen for this mission, no at all. It was for this to happen. She remembered Shizune's words helplessly.

_It was another argument between them._

"_Pawn am I?" laughed Shizune. "And I suppose you are queen?" another bitter laugh. "You seem to be so proud of that."_

"_Why should not I be?" Sakura asked with a cocky smile._

"_You are very skillful, I admit. But one thing you seriously lack Haruno-_sama_, and that is your sight beyond bookish knowledge. You lack real experiences and foresight." Shizune had said._

"_Oh?" Another cocky smile from Sakura. "As I can see, _that _helped you a lot," sarcasm dripping from her voice._

"_Just because you are promoted to queen does not mean you can move at your own will. You still need someone to command you around. And if that someone wants, he can sacrifice you even more useless way than a pawn," Shizune spat._

"_Don't forget, Haruno-_sama_, you were a pawn too."_

She was indeed a pawn, played along all the time. Now that her job was finished, she had to be sacrificed because she was the only witness of the injustice to Naruto. With her gone, everything would be clean, again. She wanted to laugh, hard. After all theses years of her devotion, this was how she would die, as a damn tool. She remembered Naruto's question to Kakashi about ninja being a tool after the Wave country mission. She saw the drops of the liquid coming down to her face. She wanted to laugh again; she can tell the chemical composition of that liquid, how she would die and even what would her body look like after her death.

With all that knowledge, she had not anticipated this death.

She closed her eyes. With her consciousness slipping, she remained still waiting for the liquid to hit her face, to enter her mouth. She felt the hand, forcing her mouth to remain open, leave her face. Even then she did not try to resist. She felt so useless then. She wanted to die like Naruto and Shizune, like a free human. She could not even do that.

'_Sorry Naruto, Shizune-san…'_ was all she could think of before she felt the liquid hit her face and darkness took over her. Had she kept her eyes open, she would have been astonished to see that the liquid that hit her face was not purple anymore.

It was crimson.

* * *

Tsunade sat on her desk, looking at the pictures. One was a group photo of Naruto, Jiraiya, Shizune and herself; and the other one was Sakura and herself. With a trembling hand, she reached for her necklace and gripped it tightly. She continued to stare at the pictures. This was not like last two times, where she had no control over her family's death. This time, it was her who had given the orders. 

This time, she could not blame the stupid necklace anymore.

* * *

Three figures stood in the middle of the battlefield. 

"Was this dramatic last minute entry really necessary?" Naruto asked in between his strained breathing.

"As long as it works," Gaara threw away the remains of the Eraser team from his 'desert graveyard'.

Some drops of blood splattered on the face of an unconscious Sakura.

* * *

It had been one week since the team lead by Haruno Sakura was dispatched for an S-class assassination mission. Not one member of the team returned alive. It was four days after their deployment that Tsunade received a report from the hidden sand village, that some bodies were found in the no man's land between the two countries. Some bodies were mangled and burned beyond recognition. Sand shinobi accounted for eighteen bodies but found only sixteen Konoha headbands. Out of those eighteen bodies, ten bodies were burnt to crisps and hence were not preserved but the traces were sent. The rest of the bodies were sent to Konoha. 

An analysis on Konoha's side revealed that sixteen of the traces/bodies were identified as shinobi of Konoha, namely Haruno Sakura (detected from the traces as her body was one of the burnt bodies) and her team. Official reports issued by Godaime herself also indicated that there were traces of two more persons whose identity could not be determined from the _current_ database of Konoha and Sand. They were probably civilians, caught in the crossfire.

Nobody asked Godaime if that _current_ database contained entries for Uzumaki Naruto and Shizune.

Today was the funeral of the heroes who died. They would get their names on the memorial stone. Heart-melting speeches, loads of flowers, some tears, and numerous nervous breakdowns would follow. Although, many would be surprised to see Hyuuga Hiashi glare the Hokage, even though there were no Hyuuga among the dead. But nobody would know that how close they were to an uprising which was stopped by the sudden death of Haruno Sakura and 'departure' of Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

At the end of the day, Tsunade stood in front of the memorial stone, her eyes on the last name on the stone, Haruno Sakura. Two more names came to her mind that would never be on there. She bit back a sob. She had lost her family once again. No, lost is not the word. She had _killed_ her family. Now she would wait patiently. 

She would wait until her name was also on the stone.

* * *

She felt the knife stab her again and again. She was drowning in the purple liquid. She tried to go to the surface but four hands kept her down. She tried to get out from their vice like grip. She turned to punch the attackers, and froze. They were dead bodies with lifeless eyes and mouths open. Naruto and Shizune's bodies. They were bringing her down, deeper and deeper into the pool. She killed them and now they are killing her. She screamed. 

Sakura woke up with a start.

Immediately, Shizune was beside her, calming her down. She kept on panicking for some more minutes before she actually registered her state. She stared at Shizune and again started to panic.

"Calm down Sakura, it's me, Shizune" Shizune soothed her, "you are OK, everything is OK. Calm down."

"I am alive, how… you are …" Sakura started to tremble.

"Calm down Sakura," Shizune repeated. "We are alive, as are you. You are still week. Don't worry, you are out of danger." She slowly pushed down Sakura to the bed.

Sakura slowly tried to catch up Shizune's words. She was alive and the person she intended to kill was taking care of her. As her brain started to function in a faster pace, many questions popped in her mind. Where was she? How did she get here? Why were they alive? Is Shizune was alive then…'_Naruto! Is he … Please tell me that he is alive,'_ she started to look around.

As if sensing her thoughts, Shizune stated, "Naruto is alright, too." She offered a glass of water to Sakura, which she gladly accepted.

A brown haired lady, whom Sakura remembered as Yuri, the wife of the Kazekage, came into the room. She was followed by the Kazekage himself and Naruto.

Naruto looked at her an expression bordering to concern.

"Are you OK Sakura?"

She looked at Naruto and gripped the bed-sheet hard. Just a moment ago, she wanted to see him. And now, when he was in front of her, her all rational thinking came to a crashing halt. She felt like dirt compared to them, compared to him. Slowly she started to cry, emitting chocked sobs which gradually became wails. Shizune was quick to act. Green chakra covered hand pressed on her forehead and Sakura was asleep again.

* * *

"You know that is impossible Gaara. You can not cover for us for rest of our lives." Naruto was trying to turn down Gaara's offer of them staying at Sand permanently. 

"Don't be so stubborn, whisker-face. It will be easier for all of you." Temari countered earning a glare from the said whisker-face.

It was two weeks after Sakura first woke up. Currently, she was sitting in the other room but kept her ears open. She still could not find the strength to look at the eyes of Naruto or Shizune directly. All these days, Shizune and Yuri, who was also a medic, nursed her back to health. Even after she almost killed them, they still cared for her as if nothing happened in the first place. She wanted them to express their rage on her by any means. Even simple yelling would be fine compared to this.

She did not want to a pitiful object to them.

She again heard Naruto's voice.

"Even if you cover for us, what about her? Even if I and Shizune are discovered here, they would not able to do anything because we are civilians; or if we accept your other offer, we are sand shinobi. But Sakura's case is different. She is practically dead to them. In her case, if she is discovered, that would be treated as treason, and you know where that will put the relationship between the two villages."

"I agree with Naruto. We have to leave," Shizune supported him.

Sakura clenched her fists. It was always her, always the weak link, always needed to be saved. She felt like she was back in her genin team. And now, they are protecting her, even after she had destroyed there home. She stared at the sky through open window and made a decision. They can get the home they both wanted here.

She destroyed their previous one, but she would give them this one.

* * *

That night, a lone figure walked out of the Kazekage mansion towards the village gate. Taking a last look at the mansion, she started to walk only to be interrupted by a voice. 

"Took you long enough, Sakura. We were starting to think that you have fallen asleep." Naruto stood leaning on a tree, a small smile on his lips. Shizune was leaning on his shoulder with one of his arms supporting her.

Sakura looked at them but quickly averted her eyes as Naruto looked at her.

"Let's go Sakura. We have a long path ahead".

"Why?" She whispered, "Why are you doing this Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are not you mad with me? I almost killed you, destroyed your dreams!" Sakura's voice was rising. "Why are you still caring for me?"

"Hey, Sasuke almost killed me too, back then. And …"

"Because this is not your fault, Sakura", Shizune continued for Naruto, now standing straight.

"Stop pitying me! I don't want to be pitiful!" Sakura was crying by now. "I would like to be dead rather than living with pity! I would rather …"

"And they thought that you are the smartest kunoichi in our batch," Naruto promptly cut her off.

"The great Haruno Sakura, apprentice of Godaime herself; she can recognize even the rarest poison by just one look, she can diagnose a disease just by hearing the symptoms" continued Naruto, "_but_ she can not differentiate between pity and friendship, even after experiencing it for _years_. And they call me an idiot."

Sakura looked at them with wide eyes to see them both smiling. She did not deserve their friendship. She did not deserve anything. She wanted to say something but nothing came out. She heard his voice once again.

"Come on Sakura, you can do better than that," Naruto grinned, the same bright grin, the same grin that she was used to. "Let's get a fresh start at life, Sakura. All three of us. What do you say?"

With a chocked sob, she took off towards Naruto and crashed into his chest, her arms encircling his back and started to pour down all her tears she held all those days. Naruto looked at Shizune, who gave a smile and a nod. He slowly brought his arms up and embraced her while she cried her heart out. A moment later, Shizune came up from her behind and put a supporting hand on her shoulder. Sakura looked at her and tried to give a small smile, tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

"Let's go, then." Naruto took Shizune's hand and started toward the gate, his left hand still supporting Sakura.

"You are always welcome to the Sand, Naruto." Gaara's voice rang out. They looked back to see the sand siblings were there.

"I will remember that … brother."

The trio disappeared into the darkness of the night to search for their new start.

* * *

End A/N: I think I answered all the questions from the previous chapter. Obviously, Gaara got the bird. As for who sent it, read the last line story in the previous chapter. Sorry to disappoint those who wanted Sai to appear or wanted more ROOTS action but I just included ROOTS so that we understand how Sakura became a politically important person unwillingly and became an important target of both the sides. The ending may seem a bit … off, but this gives me the chance to write a sequel if I want to (It'll take time, of course). Then again, it's your job to tell me how it was, so please review! Thanks for reading my story! 


End file.
